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MAIN DESTINATIONS AND TOURIST FLOWS ON THE YOUTH TRAVEL

MARKET
Mois! Claudia Olimpia
1 Decembrie 1918 University, Alba Iulia, Faculty of Science

Global tourism has seen an explosion since the 60s due to the post-war global economic growth
and over the past two decades it recorded a significant increase, youth travel being the main
component of this growth. According to experts, this type of tourism is in full evolution, young
tourists representing an increasingly important segment of the global tourism market.
Many experts in the tourism industry think youth travel is the fastest growing market segment,
and the previsions of the World Tourism Organization estimate that in the near future youth
travel will tote up 25% of the worldwide tourism market. On one hand, this phenomenon can be
explain through the cultural motivation of the young people in practicing tourism, and on the
other, through the relatively low or acceptable costs of transportation, especially for the youth in
well developed countries.

Keywords: youth travel, tourist flows, tourist destinations.

JEL codes: L83

More and more young people travel abroad for their vacation, to visit their friends or relatives, to
study, for business or for other reasons. For many of them these travels represent their first
incursion in foreign countries and are a real adventure. This movement of young people from
their residence country towards various tourist destinations generate at global level a multitude of
tourist flows that represent the most substantive expression of the tourism activity. Firstly, tourist
flows imply a temporary movement of young people in accordance with the size of the demand,
the tourist potential of that region, the distance to the chosen destination, the accessibility and
prestige of the reception region.
It is difficult to identify the main countries that constitute a travel destination. While statistics for
international arrivals are very well documented by the W.T.O. (World Tourism Organization)
and by the majority of national tourism organizations, there are very few data about the age of the
travelers. The favorite destinations of the youth must be defined by taking into account the
worldwide trends in youth travel and the strategy that each country has for its tourism.
According to the W.T.O., Europe and America are the most sought after destinations by the
worldwide youth, but despinde this, destinations like Asia, Africa and the Middle East have a
growing market share.
According to the 2003 International Student Travel Confederation (I.S.T.C) and Association for
Tourism and Leisure Educations (A.T.L.A.S.) study regarding youth travel Todays Youth
Travellers: Tomorrows Global Nomads. New Horizons in Independent Youth and Student
Travel in their tourist career youth and students visited many regions all over the world, more
than half visited Northern and Southern Europe and over 40% traveled through North America
and Eastern Europe.
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This general situation changed slightly in the last 5 years, so in 2007,
when a study
283
on the youth travel market was conducted by the World Tourism Organisation in
collaboration with the World Youth Student & Educational Travel Confederation WSYE TC, a
modest decrease in the importance of the visited European destinations was recorded, this was

282
Richards, G., Wilson, J., Todays Youth Travellers: Tomorrows Global Nomads. New Horizons in Independent
Youth and Student Travel, International Student Travel Confederation, Amsterdam, 2003.
283
World Tourism Organisation, Youth travel matters Understanding the Global Phenomenon of Youth Travel,
Madrid, 2008.
419

largely due to the extension of the surveyed respondents at world-wide level (see figure no. 1).
The regions that recorded a significant growth in the number of tourists, such as Southeast Asia
and Australia, probably benefited from a larger global distribution of the respondents in the year
when the study was conducted.






















Fig. no. 1 Visited destinations during the tourist career in 2007 compared to 2002
Source: World Tourism Organisation, Youth travel matters Understanding the Global Phenomenon of
Youth Travel, Madrid, 2008.

The regions preferred by young people as main destinations in the last major trip taken in 2002
were Northern Europe (30%), South Europe (16%), North America (16%) and Western Europe
(8%), followed by Southeast Asia and Australasia (see figure no. 2).

Fig. no. 2 Main tourist destinations preferred by young people in the last major trip taken
Northern Europe
30%
South Europe
16%
North America
16%

Western Europe 8%
Other regions 30%
0 20 40 60 80
Southern Europe
Northern Europe
North America
Eastern Europe
South East Asia
Australasia
Central America/Caribbean
China/Japonia
North Africa
Middle East
Central Asia
South America
Central/Southern Africa
Indian subcontinent
Arctic/Antarctica
%
2007
2002

in 2002
Source: Richards, G., Wilson, J., Todays Youth Travellers: Tomorrows Global Nomads.
Independent Youth and Student Travel, International Student Travel Confederation, Amste

Youth usually go back to certain tourist destinatio
visit this continent for the first time is lower th
European regions are visited several times. The oth
tourists who come for the first time in these count
(60% come for the first time), South Ameri
(approximately 50% of the young travelers come here
that must be seen at least once in a life time.
The regions that are visited by a larger number of
Central Africa (44%), South and Central America (25
Eastern Asia (20%)(see figure no. 3). These regions
why experienced travelers prefer these destinations
North America.




















Figure no. 3 Regions frequented by young people ove
Source: Richards, G., Wilson, J., Todays Youth Travellers: Tomorrows Global Nomads.
Independent Youth and Student Travel, Internation

The desire for more travel is among the most important benefits obtained by yo
visit regions with more difficult and more exoti
the Indian sub-continent, Central and South America ad Central and
discovering other cultures represents the least important gain of
Northern America, which is due to the fact the cult
globalized and familiar in the world.
Countries considered the most popular destinations
United States of America and France, all being visited by o
Spain, Italy, Germany, Great Britain and Thailand,
travel demand. These figures are correlated with st
issued by the World Tourism Organisation, which men
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Central/Southern
Africa
Northern/Central
America
%
420
in 2002
Todays Youth Travellers: Tomorrows Global Nomads. New Horizons in
, International Student Travel Confederation, Amsterdam, 2003.
Youth usually go back to certain tourist destination, in North America the number of tourists who
visit this continent for the first time is lower that the number of tourists who return, and over 70%
European regions are visited several times. The other tourist regions have a high number of
tourists who come for the first time in these countries, especially in the Indian sub-continent
(60% come for the first time), South America, South-Eastern Asia and Australasia
(approximately 50% of the young travelers come here for the first time). These are destinations
that must be seen at least once in a life time.
The regions that are visited by a larger number of tourists with ages over 26 are South and
Central Africa (44%), South and Central America (25%), the Middle East (21%) and South-
Eastern Asia (20%)(see figure no. 3). These regions are considered difficult, and this explains
why experienced travelers prefer these destinations, while most young people prefer Europe and
Figure no. 3 Regions frequented by young people over 26 years old
Todays Youth Travellers: Tomorrows Global Nomads. New Horizons in
, International Student Travel Confederation, Amsterdam, 2003.
is among the most important benefits obtained by young people who
visit regions with more difficult and more exotic tourist destinations, such as Southeast Asia,
continent, Central and South America ad Central and South Africa, and
represents the least important gain of those who visit Europe and
Northern America, which is due to the fact the culture of these regions is among the most
Countries considered the most popular destinations on the youth travel market are Australia,
tates of America and France, all being visited by over 10% of tourists, followed by
Spain, Italy, Germany, Great Britain and Thailand, each with approximately 6% of the youth
travel demand. These figures are correlated with statistics regarding international tourist arrivals
issued by the World Tourism Organisation, which mentioned France as the main destination of
Northern/Central
America
Middle East South East Asia
New Horizons in
n, in North America the number of tourists who
who return, and over 70%
er tourist regions have a high number of
continent
Eastern Asia and Australasia
for the first time). These are destinations
tourists with ages over 26 are South and
-
, and this explains
, while most young people prefer Europe and
New Horizons in
who
c tourist destinations, such as Southeast Asia,
South Africa, and
those who visit Europe and
ure of these regions is among the most
on the youth travel market are Australia,
ver 10% of tourists, followed by
each with approximately 6% of the youth
al tourist arrivals
tioned France as the main destination of
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2006, USA being third.





















Figure no. 4 The main 20 destinations visited in the last major trip
Note: one trip can cover more than one tourist destination.
Source: Richards, G., New Horizonts II The Young Independent Traveller 2007, WYSE Travel
Confederation, Amsterdam, 2007.
As mentioned in the paper Todays Youth Travellers: Tomorrows Global Nomads. New
Horizons in Independent Youth and Student Travel
284
, some tourist destinations tend to attract
certain types of tourists more than others (there are three segments of tourists established on the
youth travel market: backpackers, travellers and tourists). Destinations like Southeast Asia,
Australasia and South America are dominated by backpackers, while in North America and in
Canada the number of travellers is higher than the number of backpackers, which could be
determined by the fact these hikers are integrated in a particular group during their travel.
Among the most popular tourist destinations in 2007, Thailand, New Zeeland and Australia are
the main destinations for backpackers, who generally chose the ones with well developed
infrastructure for youth travel. In contrast, classic tourist destinations from South Europe, such as
Turkey, Spain and Greece, tend to attract more young tourists and fewer backpackers. An
interesting European destination is Estonia, but because this country recently joined the European
Union, it can still be perceived as an adventurous destination for some.
There seems to be a close connection between the development stage of tourism and the
travelling style. Relatively mature destinations from Northern America and Europe record a
lower number of backpackers, while new destinations have a larger number of backpackers. This
could be an indicator of the pioneer function of young travellers, who are trail blazers for other
travellers and young tourists. Backpackers also tend to visit as many countries as possible during
their trip, more than any other type of traveller. In the last major trip, a backpacker visited an
average of 2.4 countries, compared to 1.8 for hikers and 1.7 for tourists At an intra-regional
level, youth visit more different countries, thus: South-Eastern Asia (with 2.4 visited countries),

284
Richards, G., Wilson, J., Todays Youth Travellers: Tomorrows Global Nomads. New Horizons in Independent
Youth and Student Travel, International Student Travel Confederation, Amsterdam, 2003.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Turkey
Malaysia
Estonia
India
Egypt
Mexico
Czech Republic
Austria
Canada
Greece
China
New Zealand
Thailand
United Kingdom
Germany
Italy
Spain
France
SUA
Australia
%
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Northern Europe and South America (both with 2.3 visited countries) occupy the first places in
youth tourism.
As the tourists experience grows, people tend to travel more. Therefore, those who visit
Northern Europe have previously made only five major trips compared to the eight made by
those who visit Australia, China, Japan, South and Central Africa, and the over ten trips made by
those who visit India and South America. This sustains the idea of a tourist career, Europeans
usually travel first inside Europe, and then to Australasia which is considered their first inter-
regional journey and then continue with less known destinations from Asia, Africa and Latin
America. Young people build a tourist career by starting from easy destinations, with the
most developed infrastructures for individual tourism, then go to more adventurous
destinations. In 2007, among the destinations that attracted more experienced tourists were
countries like Vietnam, Morocco, South Africa, India and Argentina, while less experienced
travellers chose destinations in Europe. Although it is easier to travel to destinations to which
there are flight connections or other types of transport, most young people want to avoid the
beaten track and travel to non-tourist areas. Backpackers tend to travel especially to less visited
regions, and travellers try to separate themselves from tourists though their activities at the
destination.
The unsafe climate of the last years in certain regions favored some changes in the tourism
industry in general and implicitly in youth travel, favoring the development of new destinations.
For example, in 2008, overall, all the regions recorded positive results, with the exception of
Europe, which saw a stagnation in the number of international arrivals. The best results belonged
to Middle East (+11%), Africa (+5%) and the two Americas (+4%)
285
. The evolution of the
number of arrivals indicator was negative in the last six months of 2008 both in Europe (-3%)
and Asia (-3%). The two Americas (+1%), Africa (+4%) and Middle East (+5%) recorded
positive results even in the second half on 2008, although the increase was much slower
compared to the January-July period. The negative trend in international tourism, which
manifested in the second half of 2008, grew in 2009 under the impact of the global economic
crisis combined with the effects of the A(H1N1) epidemic that started in the spring of 2009.
Based on the preliminary statistics collected from 140 countries of destination, compared to the
same period of last year, it is estimated that world-wide international arrivals dropped by 7% in
the January-July 2009 period
286
. In absolute terms, the global number of international arrivals
reached 500 million in the first seven months of 2009, dropping from 540 million in the same
period of 2008, placing this indicator at the level recorded in 2007 and 2006.
Solitary young travelers chose non-traditional destinations and are known as pioneers in this
field, while youth groups tend to be more conservative when choosing a destination. They go to
traditional regions, especially for their international travels, and are attracted to new destinations
only though an organized event. Since estimating that these young travellers represents up to
25% of the total travelling population, the growing interest regarding new tourist regions partially
reflects the spreading of the models determined by young tourists.
The tourism market is also confronting with growing competition on the global youth travel
market in the sense that if established western European markets like Spain, France, Germany,
Great Britain, etc., have always been preferred by young people, in the 1990-2000 period, new
destinations appeared, such as Australia and Thailand, as leaders in the preferences of young
travellers around the world. After 2000, new destinations, like Brazil and England, launched
aggressive promotional campaigns directed at young people, which have impressive results.

285
UNWTO, International Tourism Challenged by Deteriorating World Economy, Tourism Directory 05/10/2009,
http://www.directorytourism.com. (last accessed in 13.01.2010)
286
UNWTO, UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, Volume 7, No. 1, January 2009, Madrid.
423

A recent study of the Quebec University identified five countries as the main destinations in
youth travel: Australia, France, New Zeeland, Thailand and England
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. All these countries
identified young travelers as being an essential market segment, one that brings an important
income. Australia, one of the leaders in youth travel, organized aggressive integrated marketing
campaigns combined with other initiatives, like introducing a unique visa for the work & travel
programs which led to attracting young people to Australasia. New Zeeland and England also
attract a large number of solitary young travelers with the help of promotional campaigns like:
adventure tourism, cultural tourism, rest and relaxation tourism, offering accommodation services
at a reasonable price and flexible work/study/travel programs. France successfully promoted
cultural experiences and youth hostels, especially through-out young people in Europe. Thailand
makes efforts to promote itself as a safe destination for solitary travelers, stimulating organized
groups to discover the Thailands culture. Experts consider Germany, U.S.A and Canada as
important destinations for youth travel, but none of these countries have launched marketing
campaigns for the youth travel market.
The fastest growing segment on the youth travel market is represented by the young people who
combine traveling with working. The majority of these young tourists take advantage of
governmental programs and/or of flexible visas that allow them to work in the countries they
visit, with the purpose of covering some of the expenses. United States of America are the
favorite destination of most students that work and travel, followed by Australia, England and
Canada.
Tourist destinations are influenced by the tourists country of origin, because it is clear that
people usually travel first in their own country. Europe is visited by 50% of the Europeans, North
America by almost 50% and the other regions by less than 20%.
As to the geographical distribution of the international youth travel, there is a concentration in the
northern countries that are well developed. There are significant differences in the tourist flows,
thus:
- Canadians visit Northern Europe and Northern America, representing also the largest number
of tourist who visits Central America;
- the main destinations for young people from South Africa are almost exclusively North America
and South Europe, with the exception of a small part who visits the Indian sub-continent and their
region of residence;
- English people usually travel inside Northern and Southern Europe, but also to North America;
they are among the youth that visits Central and South Africa, China and Japan;
- Swedish people visit in a high number destinations from Northern Europe, Southern Europe and
North America, but they also visit the south-east part of Asia and Western Europe;
- the young people from Hong Kong more and more tend to visit Northern Europe, but also China
and Japan; they also record a high number of visits to Australasia because of the geographical
proximity of these two regions.
The youth travel market is still dominated by the industrialized countries in Europe, North
America and the Southeast Asia, and countries like India, China or the ones in South America
have a great potential to develop this form of tourism, although the development of these markets
seems to be rather slow.
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Seminar, Brussels, 2007.
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3. Minciu, R., Economia turismului, Uranus Publishing, Bucharest, 2004.

287
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2001.

424

4. Richards, G., Wilson, J., Todays Youth Travellers: Tomorrows Global Nomads. New
Horizons in Independent Youth and Student Travel, International Student Travel
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jeunesse au Qubec, Montral, 2001..
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Global Phenomenon of Youth Travel, Madrid, 2008.
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Directory 05/10/2009, http://www.directorytourism.com. (last accessed in 13.01.2010)
8. ***UNWTO, World Tourism Barometer, Volume 7, No. 1, January 2009.
9. ***UNWTO, Youth Outbound Travel of the Germans, the British and the French, 2002.
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